Global InformationFreedom Caucus information
Freedom Caucus | |
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| Chair | Bob Good |
| Founded | January 26, 2015 |
| Split from | Republican Study Committee |
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| Political position |
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| National affiliation | Republican Party |
| Seats in the House Republican Conference | 41 / 217 |
| Seats in the House | 41 / 435 |
| Website | |
| Campaign website State Freedom Caucus Network website | |
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| This article is part of a series on |
| Conservatism in the United States |
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The Freedom Caucus, also known as the House Freedom Caucus, is a congressional caucus consisting of Republican members of the United States House of Representatives. It is generally considered to be the most conservative and furthest-right bloc within the chamber.[1][2][3][4][5] The caucus was formed in January 2015 by a group of conservatives and Tea Party movement members,[6][7] with the aim of pushing the Republican leadership to the right.[2] Its first chairperson, Jim Jordan, described the caucus as a "smaller, more cohesive, more agile and more active" group of conservative representatives.[8]
The caucus is positioned right-wing[9] to far-right[10] on the political spectrum. The group takes hardline conservative positions and favors social conservatism and small government,[11][12] along with right-wing populist beliefs[13][14] such as opposition to immigration reform.[15] The group sought dozens of times to repeal the Affordable Care Act.[16] Established as an ultra-conservative alternative to the Republican Study Committee, the group initially emphasized fiscal conservatism and concerns about House rules, favoring budget cuts and a decentralization of power within the House of Representatives.[17][18]
After the election of Donald Trump, the Freedom Caucus shifted its emphasis to loyalty to Trump,[17][19] and became what Politico described as "more populist and nationalist, but less bound by policy principles."[20] The caucus has included some members who are libertarians.[21][22] The caucus supports House candidates through its PAC, the House Freedom Fund.[23][24] The caucus also has official affiliated caucuses in state legislatures through the State Freedom Caucus Network.[25]
- ^ Carl, Jeremy (October 13, 2015). "The Freedom Caucus Is a Rebellion That Could Change the GOP's Future". Archived from the original on December 13, 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
- ^ a b Desilver, Drew (October 20, 2015). "House Freedom Caucus: What is it, and who's in it?". Pew Research Center. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ^ Ethier, Beth (January 26, 2015). "House Conservatives Form "Freedom Caucus" as Right-Wing Rebellion Continues". Slate. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- ^ Lauren Fox, Why (almost) everyone hates the House Freedom Caucus, CNN (March 24, 2017): "At first, there were just nine of them, but the group, which is considered the most right flank of the Republican conference, grew."
- ^ Mark Barrett, Meadows in line to lead House’s most conservative wing, ‘’Asheville Citizen-Times’’ (December 3, 2016): "the House Freedom Caucus, which occupies the furthest-right position on the ideological spectrum in the U.S. House..."
- ^ French, Lauren (January 26, 2015). "9 Republicans launch House Freedom Caucus". Politico. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- ^ Ferrechio, Susan (January 26, 2015). "Conservative lawmakers form House Freedom Caucus". Washington Examiner. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
- ^ Eaton, Sabrina (February 11, 2015). "It's official: Rep. Jim Jordan now chairs the House Freedom Caucus". Cleveland. Archived from the original on February 16, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
- ^ The Freedom Caucus has been widely described as right-wing:
- Cheadle, Harry (March 22, 2017). "The Right-Wing 'Freedom Caucus' Says It's Going to Kill Trumpcare". Vice. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
- Roy, Avik (April 2, 2017). "GOP Centrists, Not Freedom Caucus, Are Blocking Deal To Replace Obamacare". Forbes. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
The conventional wisdom – repeated by President Trump – is that the right-wing House Freedom Caucus is singlehandedly blocking Republican attempts to repeal and replace Obamacare.
- Beavers, Olivia (March 26, 2017). "Republican quits House Freedom Caucus". The Hill. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) resigned Sunday from the House Freedom Caucus, indicating he did so because he wanted to vote for the Republican healthcare proposal the right-wing caucus so adamantly opposed.
- Lizza, Ryan (December 7, 2015). "A House divided". The New Yorker. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
Meadows is one of the more active members of the House Freedom Caucus, an invitation-only group of about forty right-wing conservatives that formed at the beginning of this year.
- French, Lauren (March 14, 2016). "House Freedom Caucus to break with leadership on budget". Politico. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
Budget Committee Chairperson Tom Price of Georgia and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) have labored to gain the support of the far-right caucus
- Thrush, Glenn (March 25, 2017). "Trump Becomes Ensnared in Fiery G.O.P. Civil War". The New York Times.
- Fabian, Jordan (March 30, 2017). "Trump on the warpath against Freedom Caucus". The Hill. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
- Woolf, Nicky (October 7, 2015). "Republicans in Freedom Caucus support Florida conservative as speaker". The Guardian.
- Newhauser, Daniel (June 24, 2015). "Boehner-vs.-Freedom-Caucus Battle Escalates". National Journal. Archived from the original on July 28, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
- Sullivan, Sean (March 4, 2015). "Insurgent bloc of House conservatives proving to be a thorn in Boehner's side". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
- Bush, Daniel (January 22, 2018). "Who's to blame for the government shutdown? A look at the political fallout". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
- ^
- Touchberry, Ramsey; Soellner, Mica (November 9, 2022). "Emboldened far-right Freedom Caucus presents hurdles to Kevin McCarthy's run for House speaker". The Washington Times. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
- Stone, Peter (October 28, 2022). "Meet the Congressman Who Is Viktor Orbán's Biggest Fanboy". The New Republic. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
A member of the House's far-right Freedom Caucus and co-chair of the Hungarian Caucus, Harris tried to torpedo the resolution during floor debate by attacking a provision that called for setting up a NATO unit to help its members build democratic institutions.
- Carless, Will (January 23, 2022). "Far-right extremists..." USA Today. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- Wong, Scott; Allen, Jonathan (April 28, 2022). "Trump expected to stump for Illinois congresswoman in primary fight against fellow lawmaker". NBC News. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
Rep. Mary Miller, a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus, said Trump has vowed to campaign for her ahead of her primary against GOP Rep. Rodney Davis.
- Edmondson, Catie (June 28, 2022). "In Illinois, MAGA Congresswoman Rallies to Oust Her G.O.P. Colleague". The New York Times. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
Ms. Miller is a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus who has adopted Mr. Trump's grievance-infused manner of speaking and once spoke approvingly of Adolf Hitler.
- Lee Drutman, ed. (2020). Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: The Case for Multiparty Democracy in America. Oxford University Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0190913854.
These far-right Freedom Caucus members had been unhappy with Boehner's top-down style of leadership, which they felt had forced members into compromising too much with Democrats.
- David Hosansky, ed. (2019). The American Congress. CQ Press. ISBN 978-1544350639.
This set up a difficult battle for Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to reach a consensus within his caucus between mainstream Republicans and the forty-member-strong Freedom Caucus, a group of far-right libertarian, isolationist, ...
- Steven S. Smith; Jason M. Roberts; Ryan J. Vander Wielen, eds. (2019). The American Congress. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 14. ISBN 978-1538125847.
The parties are very polarized: the middle is empty, so that no Democrat is to the right of any Republican and no Republican is to the left of any Democrat. The Freedom Caucus members are located on the far right.
- Homan, Patrick; Lantis, Jeffrey (December 5, 2019). ""We the People?" Historical Foundations of Factionalism". The Battle for U.S. Foreign Policy. pp. 57–87. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-30171-2_3. ISBN 978-3030301705. S2CID 212991762.
As president, Trump has variously aligned himself with the positions of the far-right Freedom Caucus and with establishment Republican leaders.
- Geyman, John (January 2018). "Crisis in U.S. Health Care: Corporate Power Still Blocks Reform". International Journal of Health Services. 48 (1): 5–27. doi:10.1177/0020731417729654. PMID 28971720. S2CID 206411764.
The far-right Freedom Caucus in the House called for full repeal whatever the consequences, but by then the ACA had become more popular with the public and even drew support...
- ^ Reilly, Mollie (October 21, 2015). "House Conservatives Support Paul Ryan For Speaker, But Won't Formally Endorse Him". HuffPost. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
the group of hardline conservatives ... the socially conservative House Freedom Caucus
- ^ "Paul Ryan vs. House Freedom Caucus: Who will blink first in speaker's race?". Los Angeles Times. October 16, 2015.
the group's small-government, socially conservative agenda
- ^ Cottle, Michelle (April 7, 2017). "In The Freedom Caucus, Trump Meets His Match". The Atlantic.
- ^ Pally, Marcia (June 8, 2017). "A Tale of Two Covenants: Can America be Localist Without Being Exclusionary?". ABC News. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
- ^ Bade, Rachael (June 27, 2018). "'I thought you were my friend': Immigration meltdown exposes GOP hostilities". Politico. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
- ^ "After Boehner ouster, quiet period, Freedom Caucus attacks on IRS, ObamaCare". Fox News. December 10, 2016.
- ^ a b Melanie Zanona (March 8, 2022). "Republican leaders face threat of revived Freedom Caucus in GOP-led House". CNN.
Past iterations of the group – which was formed as an ultra-conservative alternative to the Republican Study Committee but has since become more of a Trump loyalty club – were more focused on process and transparency concerns, as well as fiscal conservatism. Some of the more veteran members of the group are still emphasizing that as a top priority.
- ^ Jay Newton-Small (October 20, 2021). "How Paul Ryan Outfoxed House Conservatives". Time.
The House Freedom Caucus has had a lot of demands of late: conditions under which they'd support anyone to be Speaker, changes they'd like to see made in the House to decentralize power, ... The as-of-yet unformed bill is almost guaranteed to have levels of spending the fiscally conservative Freedom Caucus will find highly objectionable – they have never supported any bipartisan deal that has come out of the Senate.
- ^ Swan, Jonathan (July 28, 2021). "Trump allies blame conservative leader for failed Texas endorsement". Axios.
the Freedom Caucus – a group of ultra-conservative House Republicans who are fervently pro-Trump.
- ^ "Inside the House Freedom Caucus' identity crisis". Politico. April 29, 2022.
- ^ Friedman, Dan (July 13, 2016). "For These House Republicans, the NRA's Seal of Approval Isn't Enough". The Trace. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
- ^ Loiaconi, Stephen (March 24, 2017). "For Freedom Caucus, defying Trump could have consequences". WJLA-TV. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
The House Freedom Caucus, a cadre of conservatives, libertarians and others who have shown no hesitation to buck the party leadership, has been heavily critical of the AHCA
- ^ Boguhn, Ally (June 21, 2016). "The House Freedom Fund Bankrolls Some of Congress' Most Anti-Choice Candidates". Rewire News. Archived from the original on December 11, 2018.
- ^ Wong, Scott (May 22, 2018). "Freedom Caucus bruised but unbowed in GOP primary fights". The Hill. Archived from the original on December 11, 2018.
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